Coconut Cake
A LONG time ago I was watching Martha Stewart and she had a guest chef on who made this cake. He sells it at his restaurant at $100 a pop so I knew it must be good. I had always wanted to make it but just hadn’t done it. So my sister, Rachel, informed me that for our little sister’s, Lissa, personal shower before her wedding, she wanted me to make coconut cupcakes. She was very specific about how she wanted them and I remembered this cake. So I said I would do a trial run and use it for Juliette’s birthday cake, just to make sure it was good.
Heaven. It was SO moist and the coconut flavor was not at all overwhelming, but perfectly present.
I have since made this cake many times and I have to say it is one of my favorite cakes.
I have done 6” rounds and made it tall, I think about 8 layers and this left me with plenty of batter to practice with. At high altitude, cake baking is a pain, so it took 3 tries before I got the batter correct. But it was fine since the recipe is actually for a 10” cake so I had plenty.
So if you are one of my high altitude friends and want to make this – you have to add extra cream: 3-4 tablespoons per cup of batter. I found this handy little page: http://allrecipes.com//HowTo/high-altitude-cake-baking/Detail.aspx
I have to admit… I used Costco butter rather than the european as I did not feel like spending that much more and of course the fact that I had to add about, 1/2 cup more cream to the cake batter but that is only due to the altitude. I typically reduce oven temperature when baking cakes at high altitude but when I did that with this one it rose unevenly and then sank after I pulled it out of the oven – so don’t do that. Just so you HA bakers know, I have baked this recipe at both 7100f and 5600f so I’m guessing anywhere in between you could use my changes.
FOR THE CAKE- Nonstick cooking spray with flour
- 1 pound unsalted butter, preferably European-style
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 1½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
FOR THE SIMPLE SYRUP - ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
FOR THE FILLING - 5 cups heavy cream
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 9 cups shredded sweetened coconut
FOR THE FROSTING - 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped
TO ASSEMBLE - 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut flakes
- 2 Coconut Cakes
- Simple Syrup
- Coconut Filling
- Coconut Cake Frosting
FOR THE CAKE- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 10-inch round cake pans with cooking spray; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5 to 6 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until creamy, occasionally scraping down sides of the bowl using a spatula.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, mix together cream, vanilla, and coconut extract. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, alternating with cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before removing cakes from pans.
FOR THE SIMPLE SYRUP - Place water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
FOR THE FILLING - Place cream, sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together cornstarch, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water. Add to cream mixture, bring to a boil, and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute.
- Place coconut in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until coconut is finely chopped. Remove cream mixture from heat and stir in coconut until well combined. Transfer to a large baking dish; let cool.
- Cover filling with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Just before using, place mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth and creamy, 4 to 5 minutes
FOR THE FROSTING - Place butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until creamy.
- With mixer on low speed, slowly add vanilla extract, seeds from vanilla bean, and confectioners' sugar. Continue beating until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
TO ASSEMBLE - Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread coconut flakes in an even layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, 5 to 7 minutes; set aside to cool.
- Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level; discard trimmings. Cut each cake into 3 even layers. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan.
- Place one layer on the cake plate. Brush with about one-fifth of the simple syrup. Spread over 2 cups of filling. Place a second layer on top. Repeat process with the next four layers and top with last remaining layer.
- Spread top and sides of cake with frosting, keeping in mind you may not need to use all of it. Press toasted coconut into sides of cake; remove parchment paper strips. Chill cake at least 5 hours and up to 5 days. Slice immediately; bring to room temperature before serving.
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/ultimate-coconut-cake
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